Ode to Substitutes
Tribute to Substitute Teachers
3-13-09
Just the other day I was being called upon to cover a class during my planning period. It turns out that there were many teachers in my building who were out that day and there were not enough substitute teachers to cover the classes. At times like these, it is time to pause and appreciate the value of a substitute.
Really.
Substitute teachers are a rare and special breed of human beings. For me and many in our teaching profession, they are miracle workers who are masters of adaptation and thinking on their feet. How difficult it must be to walk into a new classroom each day, without knowing what you are doing! The substitute many times has no knowledge of the schedule, the students or the subject matter but of course this varies from person to person. Many subs have a vast amount of experience in classrooms and are retired or former classroom teachers themselves. Talk about love of teaching! Coming back into the classroom and working with children and teens after leaving the profession is none other than a labor of devotion and love.
Yet, I see great subs come to my school every day and do a fine job sometimes in difficult circumstances. They don’t always have the information they need. Some students may need special considerations so good subs have to be able to read the students and make split second decisions to act or react in a non-threatening way. They have to be masterful at handling a classroom full of students who want nothing better than to play. The trick is to get the students settled and motivated to do the work that is left by the teacher: to be one step ahead of the students and to keep the positive vibes going.
Substitutes have inspired me to write this poem:
Ode to Substitutes
Oh Substitute, O Substitute
Your virtues are many
You come to my classroom
With ideas plenty.
You look for the seating chart
The bell schedule too
Just hoping that I have left
Enough work for you.
But alas as schools go
There is no reason or rhyme
The bells are not set right
There’s too little time.
Your lessons are crumbling
You don’t know their names
Your intentions to teach
Seem to go up in flames
There’s a mutiny of sorts
Going on in the hall
The girls are throwing spitballs
The boys tossing gum balls.
Your see cell phones and iPods
Pockets full!
You confiscate them all
Because you think that’s the rule.
The day is almost done
Now write a teacher note and leave
Just one more thing
Can you grade the papers please?
Oh wait a minute
A phone call, can you sub the next day?
Of course I can
Super Sub is on the way!
My appreciation for substitutes is deep and enduring. I cannot think of a more worthy group of people for collective and individual awards. There should be an Academy Awards of Substitute Teachers. Far more valuable than most flash in the pan actors, the substitutes deserve their own red carpet and mountains of recognition for their efforts! Nominate yours today. Just stop by any school and say, “Thanks for being such a valued part of our lives.”
